Arsenal @ Nottingham Forest 19h30 GMT
Stating the obvious but without goals you can’t win games and points so we’re now likely to end up in a situation where a CL place becomes a battle to hold onto with 0-0 looking like best case scenario for the foreseeable future. Although if the extra money earned won’t be spent on addressing the weakness in the team again, is there even much point in making it?
Admit I switched it off in disgust when Sterling was brought on. Genuinely what was the point? This season's "thanks for your interest in our affairs."
invisibleman18 the assumption here is that the 4 teams below us will punish us. I’d happily take that bet.
lorddulaarsenal mate, I've been doing this for ages. Being less invested in Arsenal is much better for my wellbeing.
Watched the first half. Wife wanted to watch something on tv. Didn't feel invested enough to either argue for control of the tv or go upstairs to watch it. Had a more pleasant evening as a result.
I'm just sickened by all this now. There's no reason to accept this. The warning signs that were there last season had turned into giant flashing klaxons by January.
Arteta still gets the benefit of the doubt with me because of what he has done, but even his stated desire for someone to come in January wears thin because it's his poor squad building that put us in that position.
March will be a more enjoyable month with only two games.
Daz I'd rather spend my leisure time doing other things these days.
Is that just when we're out of a title race or all the time?
There's no justification for not taking the Watkins deal. The only way the club can come away from that January window with any credibility is if they land Isak (which they won't) which would then have justified keeping the powder dry. Keeping it dry for Sesko is just not good enough.
RocktheCasbah I'm no true believer when it comes to Arteta but suggestions of sacking him this summer are mental.
Its getting to crunch time next season though. If goes another season with no trophies I think the pressure will mount. A big exit would add to it. We are so close but we need to do whats necessary to get over the line and stop self sabotaging.
QuincyAbeyie all the time
daredevil There's no justification for not taking the Watkins deal. The only way the club can come away from that January window with any credibility is if they land Isak (which they won't) which would then have justified keeping the powder dry. Keeping it dry for Sesko is just not good enough.
I think it is absolutely correct to say that it is a fuck up that the team did not secure additional attacking resources in the last two seasons.
However, in an individual situation like Watkins, I think it is very harsh to say "there is no justification for not taking the deal", given that allegedly we found out about the potential for the deal while the Dhuran deal was ongoing, and within 48 hours of being alerted of Watkins' potential availability, Dhuran had been sold. Villa were most likely hedging to ensure that they had a fallback in case Dhuran didn't happen.
The biggest fuck up has been Sterling. Because not only has he been crap, he has stalled our ability to get other players.
You could be right, it's hard to say conclusively without knowing what went down,
Sterling as a loan signing at the end of the summer has been truly disastrous. He's way worse than anyone could have imagined. He's worse than Willian and Luiz which takes some doing.
awooga83 absolutely. There was never any other outcome than what we've seen with him. It was a disgusting signing and an admission from the club that we weren't serious this season. As I said earlier, the modern day "thanks for your interest in our affairs." Forget Luiz and Willian. He makes me look back at Stepanovs and Squillaci fondly. Even Kallstrom, a similarly pointless loan, came on in a FA Cup semi final and scored in the shootout.
Yeah, he's been pretty much exactly as poor as I imagined.
Missed the match but from the sounds of it didn't miss much!
Claudius However, in an individual situation like Watkins, I think it is very harsh to say "there is no justification for not taking the deal", given that allegedly we found out about the potential for the deal while the Dhuran deal was ongoing, and within 48 hours of being alerted of Watkins' potential availability, Dhuran had been sold.
There was no "Watkins deal" ... bear this in mind because it'll be talked about as if Olly Watkins was all lined up for £50m and a bunch of flowers over the gruelling strikerless months to come.